Van Meter Auditorium

Van Meter was Davis' first project at Western. When completed in 1911, it was one
of the largest buildings between Nashville and Louisville. A student who first saw
the campus in 1913 thought Van Meter "the biggest building in the world," a perception
accentuated by its position atop a commanding hill. Resembling the Acropolis' Erectheion
Temple, Van Meter contained various administrative offices and a 1,600-seat auditorium
for campus community events.

Davis lavished the "rotunda" of Van Meter with beautiful fluted pilasters, a stained
glass skylight and French marble.